The Orient Express is entering the hotel game. The iconic luxury train company, owned by French hospitality brand Accor, has just opened its first hotel ever. Housed in a 17-century palazzo in the heart of Rome, the Orient Express La Minerva offers up 93 rooms and 36 suites—each of which are entirely unique in layout and size. The hotel’s address at Piazza della Minerva 69—a gathering place of many a creative and traveler over the decades—puts it mere steps away from the Pantheon, as well as other landmarks in the Eternal City. To bring the palazzo to life, Orient Express tapped artist-architect Hugo Toro to add some contemporary flair to the locale while still preserving its Roman roots. The combination can be seen as you enter the tower lobby, full of stoic columns, earthy hues, pops of greenery, and vibrant, patterned flooring. Overlooking it all is a 1854 marble statue (by Italian sculptor Rinaldo Rinaldi) of the property’s..
